Mad Hatter (bank robber) explained

James G. Madison (born 1956/57), known popularly as the Mad Hatter, is a convicted American criminal. He robbed 17 banks of $81,000, each time wearing a different hat. His hats included a hunting cap, a knit ski cap, a St. Louis Cardinals cap and a Texas Longhorns cap.

Madison graduated from Chatham High School in 1975.^[1]

A machinist from Maplewood, New Jersey, Madison previously spent 18 years in state prison after murdering a friend and dumping her body in the Passaic River. He was paroled in 2003.^[2]

On July 17, 2007, after robbing the Bank of America in Union Township, New Jersey, Madison was arrested in Newark, New Jersey after police tracked his car license plates.^{[3] [4]} On September 11, 2007, Madison pleaded guilty to six counts of bank robbery.

Notes and References

1. Staff. "Hat Bandit faces Jan. 24 sentencing", The Star-Ledger, January 3, 2008. Accessed October 1, 2019. "The 1975 Chatham High School graduate known as the Hat Bandit following a string of bank robberies will be sentenced Jan. 24, according to a report in the Daily Record."
2. News: Schweber . Nat . After Change of Heart, a Guilty Plea in New Jersey Bank Robberies . 19 June 2019 . New York Times . September 12, 2007.
3. Web site: amw.com - James Madison - Fugitive. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070724180820/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=43932. 2007-07-24.
4. Web site: 'mad Hatter' Bank Robber Arrested, Identified. . 23 July 2007.